ok, you asked for it.
We bowled first shift in both houses ... thank goodness, they were both pretty scorched when we were done. As you stated Hilltop is wood, and the heads look like they have been beaten with a ball peen hammers, but that didn't seem to effect the role. Hill top was a slightly drier THS, with good bounce on the outside. We bowled right in front of the snack bar, and our two lanes played different, with the left lane having a stronger backend to start. We had 10 guys there and all played a variety of shots, from the rocket to the pocket, to the tweener, to the deep inside player ... even a token lefty. The lefty shot the best in singles, going up 8-ish with a cherry vibe. He shot 757 scratch which put him in 4th. When doubles came, he lost his look, despite being the only lefty ... too much over under, and he shot 615. I played inside out with a Vapor Zone on one lane and straighter with a Venus on the other. I actually moved left early, then had to go back right. By doubles, the lanes really opened up for me, and I shot 690+. Unfortunately my partner who prefers to play much deeper, stopped carrying, and shot 610+, so we wound up in 10th or 11th in scratch doubles. I didn't see any OB, and pretty much had lots of room to play with. For the right handers who refused to move left, and just tried to adjust with speed, they suffered. I moved left continuously through doubles and had no problems.
Sunday we bowled in Vinton. Personally I had no problems with the approaches, and actually never heard anyone on our pair complain. We bowled on 9 and 10. The shot at Vinton appeared to start out a little longer, and I had to play a little straighter with my Vapor Zone (drilled pin up 5" from pap ... if anyone cares). I don't think it (ball + drilling) matters in THS tournaments, where just about anyone can find a spot on the lane with their favorite ball and still score. The only people who couldn't appear to carry at Vinton were those who played tighter. Misses to the right (sprays), still seemed to carry ... not as much at Hilltop.
My best friend who started inside of me (playing about 18 to 5), didn't move much. I played the track early and really regretted it. The track seemed to dry out quickly. It was 5 or 6 shots, then high shot or split, then move, and start the whole sequence over. I started at 10 to 7-8 to start, and finished up at 16 to 5 at the end of game three. Moving left too quickly caused my ball to squirt. So I had to move slowly. I struggled to 630, but our team put up a good scratch number of 3301. The lefty had the whole lane to himself, barely moved and shot 730+. He had a real advantage IMHO. ... (insert left handed mocking response here!).
Of the 5 guys on our team, 4 of us shot between 1900 and 2000 ... the left hander shot around 2100. Going in with a 214 average, I shot 1960 if it matters to anyone. There were plenty of brackets if you wanted to get in. I think one guy was in 40+ scratch brackets.
I am sorry but I don't recall who was leading in scratch or handicap doubles. I didn't hear anyone shoot a 300 at either house, but I wasn't really running around looking either.
There were pretty big games being shot all up and down the lanes, as both houses played pretty easy. I wish I had bowled at either house before, because I think I could have had a big tournament if I had some time to mess around with different equipment and different lines ... but then again so would most good bowlers I suppose.
I think the difference between scoring big and just scoring decent was the ability to manage your moves, which happened quicker for me at Vinton, and a little slower at Hilltop. Of course who you are bowling with and if they are using sponges or not makes a big difference.
Next year the tournament is at Lee Hi (sp?) and NRV. Lee Hi is a dump. Old AMF equipment and I think they have Guardian. NRV is newer and usually has a good shot, but leaning to the heavier side of medium if I recall.
There was a note on the web site that they won't be updating the standings this weekend, since Billy Paxton is out of town or something ... I think that he owns the Vinton center ... talk about home field advantage.
With the tournament ending in Mid June, there is still a long way to go.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it ... good luck holding on to the doubles lead.
Take it easy,
Drew
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dR3w
"I did nothing. I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything I thought it could be. "
